Wonderful Trip!

We had a great time on our Anniversary trip! It was lovely spending time with each other without the boys (even though I missed them!!). Our room was on the 50th floor, and our view was spectacular! Here's the sunset from our room Thursday night:

We went up to the S.un D.ial Bar Thursday night for drinks and desserts. It's at the top of the W.estin and rotates about one full turn an hour (we think!) so you get to see the whole skyline of Atlanta. A wonderful jazz band was playing. And while we were up there the B.raves game must have ended because they shot off a great fireworks show - and we got to see the whole thing from 70 stories high!!

Friday, after the great breakfast buffet (do hotels get first dibs on fresh produce? Because the strawberries were to die for!!!), we rode M.ARTA to the CNN center and did the tour there. Very cool! Then we walked through C.entennial O.lympic Park and stopped by the World of C.oca-C.ola and wandered through the gift shop (we decided not to spend the $15/person fee for the tour - outrageous!!).

Friday night we had our anniversary dinner at D.ailey's (wonderful food and service!), and DH had had beautiful roses delivered to our table at the restaurant!

The waiter gave us a free dessert to take back to our room too! Then off to the play at the Fox. OMG, it was the best production of Les Miserables that I've ever seen, EVAH! (Our seats were fantastic too!! Smack dab in the center of the Lower Loge - first row! Best seats I've ever had at the Fox!)) DH loved it - he had never seen it before - he says he thinks it was his favorite play ever (and he's actually seen quite a few, so that means something!). The actor who played Valjean is actually from Georgia and decided to get into musical theatre (he was a business major at the time) after seeing Les Mis at the Fox in the mid-90's. And now he's back at the Fox, and in the lead role that inspired him! It's a really neat story, and we thought he looked quite emotional at his reception from the audience while taking his bows.

Then on Saturday, off to 6 Flags! We rode M.ARTA to avoid wasting gas, since gas was quite scarce in the area!!! Let me just tell you this: if you are at all susceptible to motion sickness, even minutely, then DO NOT ride the Batman ride! We got two roller coasters in (the Goliath was fantastic!) and then rode the Batman ride. I immediately felt faint. We had to go sit down asap. I didn't regain my equilibrium even after about 45 minutes of sitting and resting, so we ended up leaving 6 Flags. I was so upset. :-( What a waste of money. I didn't feel better until I took an hour long nap after getting back to our room, and even then I was still a little woozy. Oh well, what are you gonna do?

Overall it was a great vacation, though! And the boys were great for their grandma and grandpa, which was a weight off my mind!

Here's the panoramic view from our room:

I'll post next time with some knitting content, I promise! :-)

10 years (and counting!)

My 10 yr. wedding anniversary is coming up in the next couple of weeks. To celebrate we're taking a (much needed!) vacation without the DS's. DS#1 and #2 are getting left with my parents while we stay at an upscale hotel in downtown Atlanta, catch a show at the Fabulous Fox (Les Miserables - my favorite show at my favorite theatre!!!!) have a nice dinner, and get to ride some rides at Six Flags without the kids in tow. We are soooooo looking forward to this!!! You have no idea. (I wonder if we'll have time to squeeze in a trip to a LYS? Hmmmm, maybe I can convince hubby that it will add to the romance of the getaway?) Maybe we'll have time to stop by my Alma Mater's gift shop so I can get a few new Ga Tech t-shirts, too. We may stop by the new W.orld of C.oke (haven't been to the new one yet) and get all gassy from the cola samples. :-) Oh, and sleep in - I haven't been acquainted with sleep since 2003, so it'll be nice to rediscover what that is. :-)



On the knitting front - I'm done with German Stocking #1:

And, I've cast on one more pair of socks for the SKA Sockdown challenge. A pair of C.ookie A.'s Pomatomus's in Dream in Color Smooshy (good luck jade colorway, very mermaid-y green). They are going well, although I don't have a pic yet. And the orange pair for DS#2 are coming along nicely too. He's anxious to have a pair of socks that fit him- the pair that I originally made for DS#1 that he's wearing now do not fit him! My boys are growing so fast! :-(

Well, that's it for me now - I'm off to give myself a pedicure for the sexy heels I'm wearing to the play and to finish packing! Catch you on the flip side!

Fair Ribbons, Knee Highs and Weight Loss

I entered my Pavo Socks and my Hemlock Ring Blanket in the Cabarrus County Fair.

Lookie what they won - a second place ribbon and a third place ribbon!
There were so many beautiful knitted and crocheted items there. And there are always lots of wonderful photos entered in the photo judging.



I've started a couple pairs of socks for the September SKA Sockdown - this month it's orange socks or a Cookie A. pattern. I'm doing a pair of generic orange socks for DS#2, and a pair of Cookie A.'s German Stockings:

These are my first knee-highs! I'm doing these with Knit Picks Palette yarn in a cream color - and size 1 harmony circs.

My cast on number was very difficult to nail down. I initially cast on the 122 sts for a 15 inch calf size (which is what my calves measure), but that was way too large (and I'm getting an even tighter gauge than called for as well.) Then I tried 114, the next size down, and that was still too big. Let me tell you, frogging 100+ stitches, twice, is not fun! I then tried the 106, and that one fits like a charm - that's the 13 inch calf size. So if you go to make these, keep that in mind!

I also made a modification and worked two sets of increase rows at 2.5 inches and at 3 inches - to widen the sock after the ribbing to make room for the wide part of my calves, and to account for the pulling in at the cable section.

The motif cable chart section was a bear to get through, but once that's done, it's a breeze! I'm already almost to the start of the heel on the first sock. I'm hopeful that I can finish these by the end of October to qualify for the Sockdown prizes.

DH and I have been changing our eating habits (not a diet, but a lifestyle change), and we have both lost about 10 pounds each over the course of the last month or two. We've both stalled a little and leveled off, but we also haven't added in exercise yet, so I'm hoping that adding in some exercise will speed the weight loss up again. My goal is to lose another 10-15 pounds or so - and get back into a size 8 jeans (that was my pre-DS#2 jean size). Keep your fingers crossed for us!

My FIL is in New York this week, having a biopsy done (on his liver spot) and another CT Scan. Everything looks good - the CT Scan showed that his tumors are getting smaller, so the chemo seems to be working, which is fantastic news. We don't know the biopsy results yet, but hope to in the next few days. Thank you for all your good thoughts and prayers, they are much appreciated. :-)

Well, that's it for now! Talk at ya later!